ColorBlaze^® Torchlight^® Coleus scutellarioides

This are heat tolerant coleus plant, is not particularly fussy and needs little routine maintenance. It will perform best if an application of controlled release fertilizer is included at the time of planting. This applies to both landscape and container plantings.

The plants aren't particularly heavy feeders, so a single dose is usually sufficient for landscape beds in most climates as an ornamental foliage coleus. If you have a very long season, a second application of controlled release plant food should be considered for landscape beds.

In general, containers need to be fed more than landscape plants. A second application of a controlled release fertilizer should be applied about every two months to container plants as a colorful coleus plant or you can regularly apply water soluble fertilizer starting about two months after the containers are planted. These extra applications of plant food can really make a difference in performance through the summer for a heat tolerant coleus plant.

If your ornamental foliage coleus plant begins to look open or a bit tired, an allover trim can be beneficial. Use a sharp pair of scissors or pruning shears to trim back up to 1/3 of the volume of the plant. I pair any trim with a dose of water soluble fertilizer to provide instant energy to help kickstart new growth and branching of this colorful coleus plant. Your plant will take some to recover from the trim, but the end result is a fuller, more dense plant going forward. You may repeat the trim as needed through the season.